


Cuties, Cookies, and Kisses

by vexbatch



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bakery, Established Relationship, First Kiss, M/M, Multi, New Relationship, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, just cuties being cute for the most part, phil and clint are in an, tattoo parlor, the author maybe needs to start working on things further in advance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26038846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vexbatch/pseuds/vexbatch
Summary: Clint finds a new romantic interest, and starts pursuing with Phil's blessing. Turns out, Clint's new interest may also have an interest in Phil.Clint Barton Birthday Bash Bingo, Square 5: Birthday
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson, James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Comments: 13
Kudos: 53





	Cuties, Cookies, and Kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hawksonfire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hawksonfire/gifts).



> Happy birthday to Arson!!
> 
> Some months ago, Arson mentioned wanting more Phil/Clint/Bucky in fandom, so here it is! And also, thank you to Arson; they said “Oatmeal raisin cookies are the reason I have trust issues”, “all the y’alls”, and also “then they kissed the end”, thus unwittingly aiding in their own gift. Additional Huge thanks to Ravenclaw2313 for getting me unstuck when I couldn’t remember how plot worked!  
> Also, this just so happened to fit into a bingo, so I'm using this for the Birthday fill on my Clint Barton bingo card.

A tinkle of bells announces Clint’s arrival at Inspired Ink, the tattoo parlor Bucky runs with his best friend. Bucky had been a patron when Clint was on-shift as a bartender a few nights ago, and had left his number along with a big helping of sultry eyes that Clint was already lost over, not to mention the gorgeous tattoos swirling across his skin. 

As soon as they had shut down for the night, Clint had run up the stairs to his and Phil’s loft, located above their bar for ease off slumping after a long shift. Well, really it was Phil’s bar that Clint happened to work in, but that was only because Clint kept protesting that he didn’t want his name on any of the paperwork.

So when he came up after his shift, Clint was bright eyed and already chattering about the way Bucky _moved_ , and his _eyes,_ and _holy mother of tattoos_ , completely interrupting Phil’s paperwork. “You should text him,” Phil responded with a smile, “but just let me meet him before it gets too serious, hmm?”

Three days and several hundred texts later, Clint was looking around at walls absolutely covered in art. It was a small place, almost set up like a barber shop, though the only person in it appeared to be a, frankly, _massive_ blond man who was sanitizing something. The man looked up, and Clint instantly felt _way_ more nervous about what was supposed to just be a coffee date. 

“Um, hi,” Clint gave a tiny, aborted wave. “I’m supposed to be meeting Bucky?”

This was met by an even more massive grin as the man straightened up and came over, holding a hand out to shake. “Yes! You must be Clint! Buck’s in the back, getting cleaned up. I’m Steve.”

Clint just nods, shaking his hand. Steve is the tiniest bit taller than Clint, and bulging with muscles where Clint has more of a lean musculature. 

“Feel free to sit down,” Steve continues, gesturing to a few chairs set up near the front. “Sorry, I’m just excited that Buck’s texting _some_ one again; it’s been a while for him.” Steve turns like he’s going to go back to his work, but stops short, tilting his head back to Clint with a wicked smile growing. It’s a grin that’s all teeth, with no mirth in his eyes at all. “Oh, and, if you hurt him? You _will_ regret it.”

A shiver went through Clint at those words, laced with fear and interest. He took a seat, turning things over in his mind. It was good to know that Bucky had someone as protective as him as Phil was of Clint. But the other half of that, that Bucky hadn’t been reaching out to _anyone_ , but had chosen to open up to Clint...that thought thrilled through him, reaching down to touch his goopy, romantic core.

It was two days after _that_ adorable coffee date that Clint could feel something bigger, deeper, blossoming in his chest for Bucky. Something that said _mine_ and also _more_ , so he’d talked to Phil, and they’d agreed to set up a Meet My Partner date with Bucky at a bakery they’d been meaning to try, but somehow never quite managed to.

\---

Phil was waiting with Clint at a bakery, Schmackary’s, for Clint’s new find to show up. Phil had been a little surprised when Clint had come bounding up their stairs, babbling about some stupidly attractive man who’d left his number, since Clint usually didn’t get worked up over the folks who left him their numbers. 

This one had peaked his interest though, so Phil just smiled, taking the napkin the information was scrawled on, and beginning his hunt. Phil didn’t employ an outside contractor to run a background check on new hires because he usually didn’t need to; after previously working for the FBI, former agent Phil Coulson was pretty adept at digging up his own dirt, thank you very much. 

After one particularly nasty person who had been using Clint to cheat on his wife, Clint had even agreed to the somewhat-invasive searches Phil did on his behalf, but one James “Bucky” Barnes had come back clean. No current relationships, his only business ties were with his partner, Steven Grant Rogers, in their mutually owned tattoo shop. No signs of bigotry or other red flags on his public profiles, so he’d come back to Clint with the all-clear two days later.

Clint hadn’t been able to resist squeeing over almost every _single_ one of their text conversations, so Phil had been rather expecting the conversation that came about a week later, asking if they could all meet up, to get Phil’s official seal of approval on Clint and Bucky seriously dating.

They’d come a little early, so by the time Bucky arrived, Clint was happily munching on a chocolate disaster, the top of his pile of five frankly massive cookies, while Phil sipped on a red velvet milkshake. They’d managed to snag an actual table, and while it gave them both a view of the entrance, Clint spotted Bucky first. He nudged Phil in the ribs before nodding towards the entrance, where Phil got an eyeful of muscles, tattoos, long hair, and an absolutely stunning face. He’d seen photos of course, but somehow it didn’t quite capture the charisma of-

Clint leaned over, breaking Phil's train of thought with a blissful sigh. “The murder strut. Isn’t it gorgeous?”

Phil stifled a laugh, taking another sip of his milkshake before responding. “He’s not bad to look at, but I reserve further judgement until we talk to him.” Clint harrumphed, but was grinning when Phil glanced his way. To be honest, in the tight black t-shirt, tattoos on display all down his arms and creeping up his neck, muscles rippling as he grabbed someone’s falling phone before it could hit the floor, Bucky was kind of a wet dream for them both.

By the time Bucky made it through to the cashier, Phil was having to forcibly turn his mind away from _gorgeous, oh wow_ , and into Placid Interviewer. This wasn’t _his_ potential, this was Clints, no matter how easy on the eyes Bucky might be. Bucky turned, holding some kind of brookie-bar, and Clint bounced up, waving frantically.

The effect that spotting Clint had on Bucky’s face was immediate; it wasn’t that he had a dopey grin, but the hardness that had subtly clouded Bucky’s face seemed to dissolve, something softer coming into his eyes as he made his way to them, sitting down across from them both.

“Hey Bucky,” Clint started, grinning like the damn fool he was. “Uh, Bucky, this is Phil. Phil, Bucky.” 

Phil gave a hardened smile, standing and reaching out to shake the other man’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.” There wasn’t any ridiculous hand crushing, which Phil put down as a good sign. They didn’t need anyone over aggressive trying to prove themselves; that kind of attitude would only piss Phill off and maybe get Clint hurt. And Clint did enough of getting Clint hurt for a lifetime.

Bucky smiled up at Phil, keeping eye contact, though there was a tenseness at the edges of his eyes. Worry, possibly? That would do. But _damn_ if those eyes weren’t beautiful.

Phil let go, giving Bucky a small smile as they all sat down. Bucky’s eyes flicked between the two of them, grinning as he glanced down at the pile of cookies in front of Clint. “I see you like this place.”

Clint, ever the excited puppy, just nodded as Phil rolled his eyes in fond exasperation before replying. “We haven’t been here before, but nothing will stop him from trying everything on the menu, given half a chance.”

That earns him another elbow to the ribs as Clint sticks his tongue out. “I didn’t get _all_ of them, I only tried five! Besides, there’s at least one that they serve that you _know_ I won’t try.”

“Oh?” Bucky has an eyebrow raised, about to take a bite of his bar.

Leaning forward conspiratorially, Clint stage whispers, “Oatmeal raisin cookies are the reason I have trust issues.” Phil grins as Bucky cough-laughs, having just taken a bite and trying not to spew crumbs as he laughs.

“Wh-what?” he finally chokes out, face flushed with laughter and...yeah. Phil can see why Clint wanted to try actually dating him. Clearly, Bucky was gorgeous, but he was also mostly stoic, which made it extra fun to fluster him into laughter. _Hmm_.

“Yeah! Listen, you can’t just _leave a plate of raisin cookies out_ . First of all,” and Clint is off and running, Phill studying Bucky, who is watching Clint natter on fondly. “-such a bad choice they’re absolutely disgusting. And, _and_ , Nat left them at _my house_ . She knows how much I love chocolate, I mean,” Clint briefly stops to gesture with the chocolate monstrosity he’d been eating, “look at me. Biting into that, expecting chocolate, and getting a _nasty ass raisin_ ? Yeah, fuck that all the way to Iowa, no _thank_ you.” 

The rant ended as abruptly as it began, with Clint taking a huge bite of cookie. Phil guessed he was getting into his own head ( _again_ ) about being too much, talking too much, about turning Bucky off to him when the man was _clearly_ already smitten. 

When it became clear that Bucky was content to just sit there and blush at Clint as Clint continued chewing, Phil cleared his throat. _Someone_ was going to have to get these idiots to talk to each other, and distract Clint from his anxiety.

“So Bucky,” Phil started, pleased when Bucky’s eyes snapped to him, blush still high on his cheeks. “I’m afraid Clint hasn’t told me all that much about you. What is it that you do?”

This was actually a blatant lie; Clint had squeed everytime Bucky had texted him back, had shown his phone and gushed even as Phil was rolling his eyes and grinning. But it would be rude to mention just how _thorough_ of a background check Phil had gone into until Bucky understood a little bit more about just how protective Phil would be.

Maybe it was a violation of privacy. He chose to think of it as forward thinking.

“Oh, right, I run a tattoo shop with my friend Steve. He actually helped design this coverup for me.” At that, Bucky pushed up the sleeve on his t-shirt and turned, showing off a red and grey star design, vaguely robotic and segmented. Clint leaned forward, eyes transfixed, and Phil watched as Bucky nodded, letting Clint reach out and touch.

“That’s a beautiful piece,” Phil placed a hand on Clint’s lower back as he leaned over as well, eyes tracing down the rest of the arm. “Does that whole sleeve share a meaning, or is it just gorgeous art? Not that it needs to be anything other than gorgeous.”

And once again, Bucky’s eyes flicked to him, a smile tugging at his lips and a glint in his eye. _Maybe he’s not just nervous…_ “Some of them have meaning,” Bucky said, interrupting Phil’s line of thought, “but most of them are just pretty, or friends trying things out. D’you have any?”

Phil let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “Not yet, but _this_ one,” he nodded at Clint, who was currently tracing the outline of a twisting dragon along Bucky's bicep, “keeps trying to convince me. He’s got enough of them to write a dissertation on how addictive tattoos can be, though I think most recently we were thinking of getting some more things pierced, weren’t we?” Phil squeezed Clint’s side at that, trying to refocus him on actual conversation instead of ogling.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m gonna have Nat do something. Just gotta decide between a lip ring or a tongue piercing; something to play with, ya know?” 

At that, Bucky actually poked his tongue out, showing off his own piercing with a smirk. Clint let out a little _oooooh_ , leaning forward further before catching himself. Bucky blink, and Phil was pretty sure that Bucky’s brain had just shorted out from his face being inches from Clint’s. That had happened a time or two to Phil himself, but Phil just smiled, resisting the urge to nudge Clint forward that last little bit. They should probably talk about a few things before speech devolved into kissing, which would inevitably devolve into something more…. _physical_ and _private_ , as it usually did when Clint was involved and interested.

Tugging lightly on Clint’s shirt, Phil turned that controlled smile back onto Bucky. “We should probably talk about a couple more things before Clint starts exploring that piercing.”

Obediently, Clint leaned back into Phil’s touch, and Bucky swallowed very visibly. _Fuck, Clint always finds the pretty ones_ , Phil thought before Bucky interrupted. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Uh, I haven’t really done more than hookup in a while, but Clint mentioned that y’all are poly. I haven’t uh…” 

Bucky trailed off, looking a little lost, and Phil decided to take pity on him. “Basically, I just want to know who Clint is dating or fucking. The rest really depends on what you’re comfortable with. Sometimes we have thirds that just want to be with Clint, and that’s fine. Sometimes we have people who want threesomes, and we can discuss that if that’s something you’re interested in. I don’t usually participate, but watching and directing can heighten things. All of this making sense so far?”

The check-in probably wasn’t necessary, as Bucky had clearly been paying attention, eyes widening at the mention of a threesome, but Phil liked to make sure. “Yeah, um, okay.” Bucky cleared his throat, eyes flicking between them. “That...that could be interesting. I mean, if you’d be interested in a threesomes, I would _definitely_ be down for that.” Bucky paused to lick his lips, and Clint took that as an opportunity to jump in.

“Actually,” Clint started, “what if we tried going on a date first?”

There was a look of shock on Bucky’s face, and Phil was pretty certain his face looked the same as he turned to Clint. “I mean, Phil too, obviously, if that’s what you want, I just…” Clint looked down, and Phil’s heart nearly broke to see that much vulnerability and fear on his face without being able to do a damn thing about it. Clint continued, whispering down at his cookies, “I’d really like to try to actually date you and not just hookup, if that’s okay…”

Phil’s focus flicked back to Bucky, who looked a little lost around the shock. Knowing he can’t say anything, that they just need Bucky to make up his mind, Phil leans back against his chair and looks the man over again. He hopes Bucky makes the right choice here.

It took just over two minutes for Clint to look up, catching Bucky’s eyes. Phil can see Bucky’s resolve crumbling, the bereft look trading for one of determination. “Yeah,” Bucky croaks, voice sounding absolutely wrecked. “Yeah, okay. We can try that. All three of us, yes?”

Bucky’s eyes flicked to Phil, who just smiled as Clint let out a breath. “I would be interested, if that’s what you want.”

Nodding, Bucky gave a tentative smile. “That would be nice. Maybe...maybe we could go on a date? Like an actual date, where I know beforehand that I’m meeting two stunningly attractive guys who are maybe into me? Like, day after next?”

Clint tipped his head back and laughed at that, and Phil can feel the tension bleeding from himself. “Well,” Clint started, “maybe not that day specifically. That’s Phil’s birthday.”

Bucky actually snorted at that, cheeks pinking adorably. “Happy birthday, have a boyfriend?”

“Actually,” Phil smiled, doing a little bit of plotting. “Current birthday plans only cover evening activities. How would you feel about a lunch date? We can ignore the entire fac that it’s a birthday at all, just treat it like a regular lunch date”

Bucky smiled at that. “I’d like that.”

Clint, however, turned to give Phil his best petulant glare. “Okay, but I am still telling the server it’s your birthday so that I can steal your free cake.”

Both Phil and Bucky laughed at that, turning simultaneously to Clint with affection in their gaze. “Yeah, alright,” Phil answered. “But otherwise, the date is birthday free. Okay?”

Clint nodded, smiling as he took another bite of cookie. The rest of the meeting passed pleasantly, talking about cookie flavours, with each of them testing out bites from the hoard Clint had accumulated. It was light conversation, but Phil could feel the draw of Bucky, the hard line of his jaw, the intensity of his eyes, but the gentle affection that he used to talk about his tattoo shop, or the way he would occasionally pull at his bottom lip, looking with lidded eyes at Clint. 

It wasn’t until they were leaving, hovering outside the bakery about to take different directions, that Phil thought things would go any further. But just as he was raising a hand in a half wave, Clint suddenly surged towards Bucky, almost knocking over a woman who was trying to make her way into the shop, mashing their faces together in a heated kiss. 

Phil quickly schooled the surprise off his face, waited a moment, then began to enjoy the passion he was witnessing. Phil himself wasn’t partial to too much physical affection, but Clint _craved_ it, and seeing Clint take what he wanted had always been a turn on for him.

By the time they broke apart, Clint could see Bucky’s face was flushed and his chest heaving before he gave a little smirk up at Clint. “‘Till next time, doll,” he got out, then turned and sauntered the other way.

Clint and Phil stood there for a moment enjoying the view, until Bucky disappeared around a corner, throwing them one last wink. Finally, Clint turned to Phil, flailing one arm out afterwards. “Hnnnnng!!”

Phil just smiled, reaching out to take Clint’s hand. “I know, baby, I know. But hey, I bet you get to do more of that in two days.”

Clint collapsed in his arms, and Phil just stood there, enjoying holding him close. “You’re the best,” Clint mumbled, and Phil hummed his satisfaction. This was going to turn out _very_ well.

**Author's Note:**

> The bakery called Schmackary's is a real place in NYC! If you're ever in the vicinit, I recommend their cookie-milkshakes.
> 
> Also, it didn't come up in the fic, but the name of the bar Phil owns is Strategic Hangover Expertise, Intervention, and Logistical Drinking. Clint thinks that Phil just really wanted it to spell out SHIELD, for some reason.


End file.
